Home of the "Beautiful Sitka" Video Series

Friday, 19 September 2014

Settled on Baranof Island between the mountains and the Pacific Ocean rests the City and Borough of Sitka – a standout amongst the most inquisitive and picturesque places in all the world. Incorporating the 2,847 square miles of Baranof Island, Sitka is really the biggest city in the United States yet has just 17 miles of street and the people living there are below 9,000.

Made in 1799, Sitka was likewise the capital of Russian America and the United States Alaska Territory till 1900 when the capital was replaced to Juneau. Sitka has a shockingly calm atmosphere for its northern scope. As a rule just 33 inches of snow falls every year over a 19 day period and just 10 days see a high beneath solidifying making this a perfect atmosphere for the rich downpour woods that covers Baranof Island.

Sitka is a glorious group different in regular magnificence and society. This group is our home. Sitka is the place we raise our families, work, play, and appreciate a standout amongst the most excellent, sensational areas on the plane.

Thursday, 28 February 2013

Sitka's location was originally settled by the Tlingit people over 10,000 years ago. The Russians settled Old Sitka in 1799 under the name Redoubt Saint Michael. The governor of Russian America, Alexandr Baranov, arrived under the auspices of the Russian-American Company, a colonial trading company chartered by Tsar Paul I. In 1802, Tlingit warriors "clad in animal-headed helmets and armour" destroyed the original establishment, killing four hundred Russians and enslaving the rest, with only a few managing to escape. Baranov was forced to levy 10,000 rubles in ransom for the safe return of the surviving settlers.
Gajaa Héen (Old Sitka), circa 1827. The new Russian palisade atop "Castle Hill" (Noow Tlein) that surrounded the Governor's Residence had three watchtowers, armed with 32 cannons, for defense against Tlingit attacks.
Baranov returned to Sitka in 1804 with a large contingent of Russians and Aleuts with the Russian warship Neva. The ship bombarded the Tlingit fort but was not able to cause significant damage. The Russians then launched an attack on the fort and were repelled by Tlingit fighters and marksmen. However, the Tlingit gunpowder reserves had been lost before the Russian assault and the Tlingit were forced to leave the fort.
Following their victory at the Battle of Sitka, the Russians established New Archangel as a permanent settlement named after Arkhangelsk, the largest city in the region where Baranov was born. The Tlingit re-established a fort on the Chatham Strait side of Peril Strait to enforce a trade embargo with the Russian establishment. In 1808, with Baranov still governor, Sitka was designated the capital of Russian America

Monday, 23 July 2012

The City and Borough of Sitka, formerly New Archangel (Russian: Ново-Архангельск or Новоaрхангельск, t Novoarkhangelsk) under Russian rule, is a unified city-borough located on Baranof Island and the southern half of Chichagof Island in the Alexander Archipelago of the Pacific Ocean (part of the Alaska Panhandle), in the U.S. state of Alaska. With a population of 8,881 in 2010, Sitka is the fourth-largest city by population in Alaska. Urban Sitka (57°03′5.62″N 135°20′19.11″W), the part that is usually thought of as the "city" of Sitka, is situated on the west side of Baranof Island.

Monday, 5 September 2011

The City and Borough of Sitka, originally called New Archangel (Russian: "Новоaрхангельск" or "Ново-Архангельск"; transliterated: "Novoarkhangelsk" or "Novo-Arkhangelsk") under Russian Rule, is a unified city-borough located on Baranof Island and the southern half of Chichagof Island in the Alexander Archipelago of the Pacific Ocean (part of the Alaska Panhandle), in the U.S. state of Alaska.

With an estimated population of 8,986 in 2005, Sitka is the fourth-largest city by population in Alaska. Urban Sitka (Downtown) 57°03′5.62″N 135°20′19.11″W, the part that is usually thought of as the "city" of Sitka, is situated on the west side of Baranof Island.

The current name "Sitka" (derived from Sheet’ká, a contraction of the Tlingit name Shee At'iká) means "People on the Outside of Shee", Sheet’-ká X'áat'l (often expressed simply as Shee) being the Tlingit name for Baranof Island.